Thursday, October 27, 2016

During the latter part of the 2000s, we broadcast regularly on shortwave via transmitters around the globe. Since then, many international broadcasters have discontinued broadcasting on the HF bands, as we did in 2007. Is there a future for shortwave radio? We carried out a one-off two-hour shortwave broadcast on Saturday 25th April 2015 and Saturday March 19th, 2016 from Roerbach in Germany.

We'd be grateful for your reception reports and will verify by e-QSL card or, if you mail us one Euro or two US Dollars, we'll mail you a proper QSL card! All reports received electronically to date have been verified with eQSLs and copies of Radio News.

Radio Six International now also produces regular programming for European Music Radio which is broadcast regularly on shortwave. The next transmissions are as follows:Saturday 19th November 2016:
21.00 to 22.00 UTC on 7,490 kHz - Central & North America via WBCQ

Dublin's alternative music station TXFM closes tomorrow (Wednesday 26th) after only two and a half years on air.

TXFM began as Phantom, a pirate station which went on air in 1996 and was licensed ten years later. The station suffered badly in the Irish economic crash of 2008 and was part-acquired by media giant Communicorp and re-launched as TXFM in 2014.

However in March of this year Communicorp announced that it was pulling the plug. Following the closure there will be no commercial FM station in Ireland dedicated to alternative music. The last hours of TXFM can be heard on 105.2 FM in Dublin and on www.txfm.ie.

Next week on Sunday October 23rd, FRS-Holland will be on air on 7700//9300 and at a different time schedule (that same day) on 6070 kHz.
For details (streaming, programme schedule, times etc.) surf to www.frsholland.nl and click on Latest News (on top of the page).
Have a good weekend!

Please be advised that today (21 October 2016) Marconi Radio International will once again be on air, as follows: 1800-2000 UTC on 5700 kHz (New frequency) USB mode with an unscheduled test broadcast. Reception reports with audio clips (mp3-file) are welcome and confirmed by a "solid" QSL card! (Please note that reports on reception via remote web sdr receivers will be ackwnoledged ONLY by electronic QSL).

Internet Repeats on 16th October 2016:
EMR will repeat this months transmissions via two streams running at the following Times:15.00, 17.00, 19.00 UTChttp://nednl.net:8000/emr.m3u will be on 96 kbps /44 KHz stereo for normal listeninghttp://nednl.net:8000/emr24.m3u will be 24 kbps / 22 KHz mono will be especially for low bandwidth like mobile phones.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

"RTÉ Radio will proceed with plans to axe its longwave 252 service next year, it has been confirmed.

A spokesperson for the national broadcaster confirmed the closure will take place in 2017 but that it would “explore possible ways forward” to maintain links with the Irish community across Britain, many of whom rely on the service.

Today’s announcement comes despite efforts by the Irish community to stop, or at least further delay, the closure."

I noticed in the newsagents today that the Irish Post had also made it their front page story. So that looks like the end for another long wave station. Of course, many will remember the years 252 kHz broadcast Atlantic 252 which put in a great signal across Britain.

"Portrait of a Pirate Radio Pioneer is a half-hour film by Jackie Jarvis and produced by Kevin Allen for IRISH TV that documents the fascinating life of a television engineer in rural Co Monaghan who set up the first land-based pirate radio station in Ireland.

Sean Mac Quillan works locally in Clones as a supplier of televisions, parts and services and in addition to his love for cobbling together old and disused remnants to fix television sets at minimum cost, he also doubles up as an ‘elegant chauffeur’ for debutantes to whom he hires out his vintage 1974 Jaguar.

As Mac Quillan recounts poignant moments while painting an ordinary life punctuated by extraordinary moments in laid-back tones, it is clear to the viewer that this authentic Irish character retains a steely determination to work solidly below the radar at what he loves in life while being an undisputed driven entrepreneurial pioneer and local treasure."

The programme was broadcast on Saturday, but the articles adds at the end "IRISH TV can be viewed on Sky 191; Freesat 400; Free to Air and www.Irishtv.com" so it could be repeated or available on the IrishTV website.

Info: Mike Terry, BDXC-UK Yahoo group Alan Pennington, also on the BDXC-UK Yahoo group, adds:
The film is available to watch on Vimeo Mike at: https://vimeo.com/90407094
- his pirate radio exploits starts about 11 minutes in.

Basic schedule:European morning, 0800-1200 UTC from Europe to Asia/Japan/Oceania.European afternoon, 1200-1600 UTC from Europe to North American and vice versa.European night, 2200-2400 UTC from North America to Asia/Oceania.

Of course, these are general frequency ranges where pirates have broadcast during prior Global HF Pirate weekends. Some stations will surely operate on frequencies and times outside of these ranges. These will be updated on HF Underground and on the Hobby Broadcasting blog (http://hobbybroadcasting.blogspot.com/) as schedules are received from stations.